Pretend you are the marketing director of a small, but profitable company. You have a product that you truly believe in and has sold quite well in the past. You have been charged by your CEO to grow the business. An increase in budget has been approved and it is now your job to determine where to spend the extra funds.

There are three choices for the money:

Market A – Your product is widely available here. Most people are active purchasers and believe what you sell is beneficial. There are already numerous TV and radio ads telling the people about how great your product is. Celebrities are even pitching for you! But growth over the past 20-25 years has been stagnant. The next generation of purchasers aren’t quite sure your product is what they want and they are looking at your competitors.

Market B – Your product can usually be found in stores. Probably not in every store, but if someone wants to purchase it they can find it. There are a decent number of regular purchasers. They may be long time users who don’t want to ever change or they may be new users who are just discovering the virtues of what you have to offer. Either way, with a little push your product could probably regain market dominance.

Market C – Traditionally this area has been ignored by your predecessors. The feeling was that it was too difficult to break into this market. The competitors are strong and have many years of loyalty to them. Very few people have heard about your product and even less know exactly what it is. But, recent research has shown that when people see what you are selling and experience it, they want it! And even more so, they freely advertise your product to all their friends and family. In limited trials, your product has proven to have massive growth potential in this market.

So which market would you choose to spend the majority of your budget? Why? Once you have answered, please share the link with someone else!